By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
For the second time this year, an “unlawful detainer” action is pending against the ownership of West Seattle Athletic Club in North Delridge. That’s the formal term for a legal action that could result in eviction. As reported here in February, the first case was called off on the eve of a court hearing, and the lawyer for the club’s landlord, H-P Properties, told WSB at the time, that was because club ownership “came up with a payment sufficient to reinstate the lease.”
Documents available online showed that case was formally closed in early April. But court records show that a new “unlawful detainer” action was filed one month later, on May 2nd.
A hearing was set for June 4th, then rescheduled for this morning. As we had done on the February hearing date in the previous action, we went to the Regional Justice Center in Kent, where these types of cases go before a court commissioner at whatever time one or both parties show up on the appointed morning. However, the morning ended without anyone appearing on behalf of this case; reached by e-mail later, H-P Properties’ lawyer David Tall told us that the “hearing (was) reset for 6/30 pending payments to be made before such date.”
That was the entirety of his reply, so we don’t know what payments are expected. However, a document filed with the court on June 2nd as a declaration of landlord John Pietromonaco says that when this second “unlawful detainer” complaint was filed May 2nd, “the sum of $244,971.58 was due.” Then, his declaration added a 5% late fee for May rent, also added the June rent of $110,000, and totaled up the bill as $594,516.23.
(The same document shows that the payment made back on February 11th, closing the first case, was $286,000, more than half what the landlord listed as the balance at the time, and shows that $144,493 in payments have subsequently been made, as of June 1st.)
In the past, West Seattle Athletic Club owner Sam Adams has declined comment. But we have called WSAC and asked them to please put us in touch with whomever, whether Adams or another club/company executive, can comment on the current situation. We will add any response we receive.
Adams took over the former West Seattle Allstar Fitness at 2629 SW Andover in March 2013, after its former owner’s bankruptcy case led to the sale of its assets for $75,000.
SIDE NOTE: When we reported the since-closed “unlawful detainer” case in January, we also mentioned a lawsuit that Adams’ clubs had filed against two companies, Allstate Financial Group and Barratt Leasing, accusing them of breach of contract involving billing, among other things. According to court documents, that lawsuit was dismissed “with prejudice” (meaning it cannot be re-filed) in late March.
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